Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath and forward Krisztian Nemeth were named to the Hungary Men’s National Team roster today ahead of two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches next month.
Barath, Nemeth and the Magyars will travel to face 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Croatia on Oct. 10 at Stadion Poljud in Split (1:45 p.m. CT) before hosting Azerbaijan on Oct. 13 at Groupama Arena in Budapest (11 a.m. CT). The duo will join Hungary's 26-man squad following Sporting’s MLS regular season finale at FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Stadium.
Hungary enters October occupying third place in Group E of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying with four matches still to play. The Magyars are one of five teams in a challenging group alongside Croatia, Azerbaijan, Wales and Slovakia, with nations competing in a home-and-away, double round-robin format that concludes in November. The top two finishers in the group will advance to UEFA Euro 2020, which will take place in 12 cities across 12 different European countries next summer.
UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFYING: GROUP E STANDINGS
<strong>#</strong> |
<strong>Country</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>T</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
1 |
Croatia |
10 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
5 |
+5 |
2 |
Slovakia |
9 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
7 |
+2 |
3 |
Hungary |
9 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
6 |
+1 |
4 |
Wales |
6 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
5 |
Azerbaijan |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
13 |
-8 |
Barath, 27, has started 21 of 23 appearances for Sporting in all competitions during his first season with the club. The versatile defender, who opened his MLS scoring account at Minnesota United FC last Wednesday, has earned eight caps for Hungary since debuting last fall.
Nemeth, 30, has amassed 37 caps for Hungary since 2010, scoring four goals and competing at UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He has started 21 of 27 appearances for Sporting this season and is tied for the team lead with 12 goals in all competitions.
Sporting will conclude their 2019 campaign on Sunday, visiting FC Dallas in one of 12 MLS matchups kicking off simultaneously at 3 p.m. CT on Decision Day. Fans can catch the action live on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM.
